A man has appeared in court after he spat at a police officer when they confronted him over his outstanding fine warrant.
Piotr Wiktor (30), of no fixed abode – but previously with an address in Portadwon – appeared before Craigavon Magistrates Court, via videolink from Maghaberry, charged with assault on police and criminal damage.
The court was told that at approximately 5:10pm on March 11, police were on patrol in Portadown when they came across the defendant on Woodhouse Street.
He was arrested as police were aware of a warrant that had been issued for his arrest.
Wiktor immediately became aggressive, telling the police to “f**k off” and to go away from him. He was restrained and handcuffed, before spitting towards a police constable.
He was then placed in the back of a police vehicle, where he spat on the floor of the vehicle.
A defence lawyer then told the court that his client had been in custody since the date of the charge.
He said the defendant, who originally hails from Poland, “is effectively homeless and either stays with the father or friends”.
He added that Wiktor had been drinking and was “worried” about the fine warrant.
District Judge Francis Rafferty imposed a sentence of three months prison on each charge, to run concurrently.
“I won’t make a compensation order given the fact he’s in custody,” he added.
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